Direct Observation of Coherent Longitudinal and Shear Acoustic Phonons in TaAs Using Ultrafast X-Ray Diffraction

Min Cheol Lee, N. Sirica, S. W. Teitelbaum, A. Maznev, T. Pezeril, R. Tutchton, V. Krapivin, G. A. De La Pena, Y. Huang, L. X. Zhao, G. F. Chen, B. Xu, R. Yang, J. Shi, J. X. Zhu, D. A. Yarotski, X. G. Qiu, K. A. Nelson, M. Trigo, D. A. ReisR. P. Prasankumar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Using femtosecond time-resolved x-ray diffraction, we investigated optically excited coherent acoustic phonons in the Weyl semimetal TaAs. The low symmetry of the (112) surface probed in our experiment enables the simultaneous excitation of longitudinal and shear acoustic modes, whose dispersion closely matches our simulations. We observed an asymmetry in the spectral line shape of the longitudinal mode that is notably absent from the shear mode, suggesting a time-dependent frequency chirp that is likely driven by photoinduced carrier diffusion. We argue on the basis of symmetry that these acoustic deformations can transiently alter the electronic structure near the Weyl points and support this with model calculations. Our study underscores the benefit of using off-axis crystal orientations when optically exciting acoustic deformations in topological semimetals, allowing one to transiently change their crystal and electronic structures.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number155301
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume128
Issue number15
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 15 2022
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physics and Astronomy(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Direct Observation of Coherent Longitudinal and Shear Acoustic Phonons in TaAs Using Ultrafast X-Ray Diffraction'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this